Professor Layton and the Mysterious Play
by Makeik
Summary: Things have been quiet lately, and Luke is bored out of his mind. After doing the same routine of reading books and drinking tea for a couple of weeks, Flora comes up with a plan. It involves a play. And make-up. Will Layton be able to solve this?
1. Darkness and Tea

**Professor Layton and the Mysterious Play**

Luke was bored out of his mind.

It was a surprise that no marvelous adventure had knocked on their doors for weeks! Professor Layton always had someone looking for him. At least, that was the impression Luke had ever since he had become his apprentice.

Hershel Layton always had someone that was willing to pay his train ticket to make him discover the real culprit of a really confusing and challenging mystery. He was invited to wonderful parties, with really expensive cakes and fancy ladies dressed in colorful and classy dresses, where children would disappear out of the blue only to be discovered by the Professor a couple of hours later.

Of course, the children had only fallen asleep under the shade of a really big oak tree, and no one had even considered looking for them in the garden. But still, they treated Professor Layton as the major hero of all time, and he was invited to the following party that very same week.

Interviews, research, old libraries… Professor Layton was always invited to all of these events and places, everyone eager to hear his opinion on the latest work of a really admired scientist or simply his opinion regarding the taste of the finest bread in London.

And suddenly, when Luke had grown used to the parties, the mystery, the smell of old books and the wonders of critical thinking… the invitations had stopped arriving.

No wonderful parties were planned, no lost children were looked for, and the people that would normally challenge the Professor with interesting and entertaining puzzles stopped appearing.

It would be the third week in a row in which the Professor would do nothing more than read long historical books, drink the tea prepared my Flora, and would then sigh and head to rest.

Luke was appalled. What was the meaning of this?

Late that night, Luke sat on the old arm chair that was in the living room and sighed sadly.

"I know what you're thinking"

Luke opened his eyes and turned towards the soft and sweet voice behind him. Flora smiled sadly and nodded slightly.

"If you know what I'm thinking… then what can we do? There is nothing we can do to make everything go back to the way it was. The Professor says nothing, but I'm sure he is tired of all that reading. He needs to go out there and do what he does best!"

"Even though you speak very passionately about this, what you say is quite sad. Are you sure there is nothing we can do?"

"Flora, we can't CREATE the mysteries ourselves. We would know the answers already, and it would not be a real challenge at all."

"Who know? Maybe NOT saying the answer right away would be the real challenge then. I don't really know how to say this, but I believe that we can do something special for Mr. Layton if we plan everything properly."

"Something special for the Professor? What do you mean?"

Flora smiled, and Luke was suddenly a bit scared of the glint in her eyes.

"Hear me out, and help me if you wish."

Luke nodded.

/././././././././.

"Ah, what a nice morning this is!"

Professor Hershel Layton straightened his top hat and smiled as he looked at the blue and cloudless sky.

"I really do enjoy my month of vacation. A chance to simply relax, read, and drink delicious tea. I wonder if the young ones are bored, though… Oh well! Talking to myself is not going to do any good. I should ask them if there is somewhere they wish to go to today."

Smiling, he walked towards the door and opened it with an energetic move… only to find that the living room was completely dark.

Confused, he turned towards the window of his room to see a shiny and glorious London. He frowned and turned to the darkness that had drowned his living room while he slept.

"Luke! Flora!"

No reply.

Worried, he gave the first step towards the dark room.

Soon, he disappeared in the darkness.

**To Be Continued!~**

(Maybe?)

**Some Words From the Author: **

Greetings! This is my first (published) Layton fanfic. I would love to read some reviews, in case you wish to share with me your opinion on the fic.

Every review is loved and read with gratitude. If you wish to share with me your thoughts on what lies in the dark, then please do so!

I promise to publish the next chapter soon. Reviews get my writing gear working, though. *hint hint*

Thank you for taking your time to read these words. I appreciate it.

Have fun~

S


	2. A key, a moustache, and a cookie

**Chapter Two: **

**A key, a moustache, and a cookie. **

It was dark and quiet.

It was lucky that the Professor was gifted with such a great memory, for he was able to remember clearly how the furniture was spread around the living room.

However, he suddenly stumbled with a table that was not supposed to be there.

"What? The furniture has been moved around? What is happening? This is preposterous! Luke! Flora! Are you there?"

No reply. Layton began to worry and looked around in the darkness, trying to adjust his eyes to the dark room. It took a couple of seconds before he realized that there was an envelope and a flashlight in the table with which he had crashed a couple of minutes ago.

A sigh escaped from his lips.

"Why must it ALWAYS start with a letter? Oh well. I suppose my vacations should be cut short for now. I need to find Luke and Flora before it is time for tea!"

He turned on the flashlight and opened the envelope.

Inside, there were two pieces of paper, a fake moustache, and a key.

"Oh well, I have seen stranger things. I believe this is going to be solved quickly enough"

He reached for the first piece of paper, only to realize that there was something else inside the envelope which he had not noticed before.

"Is this a chocolate-deluxe-ultra-sugary-and-sweet Cookie? "

Professor Hershel Layton was puzzled. He moved his head from side to side, thinking and planning.

"This has suddenly taken a turn I was not expecting. I better analyze the pieces of paper properly before making my next move. I suppose it IS a good thing that Luke is not around. The cookie might be a secret key or a clue, and he would have NOT resisted the sweet scent of chocolate and sugar. That kid loves food in general, but chocolate-deluxe-ultra-sugary-and-sweet cookies are his favorite dessert. "

Putting the cookie in a safe-secret-pocket, the Professor turned to the two pieces of paper that he had to read and analyze.

The first piece of paper was written with cursive and elegant handwriting. It said the following:

"Professor:

You are cordially invited to solve a wonderful and mysterious challenge in your kitchen. Please, proceed to the kitchen and put on the fake moustache that you have been provided. Before you put the moustache on, though, you need to solve the following puzzle.

**Puzzle #1 **

It goes up, but at the same time goes down. Up toward the sky, and down toward the ground. It's present tense and past tense, too. Come for a ride, just me and you!

No clues for you!

If you actually enjoyed your childhood, the answer should be on the tip of your tongue!

Oops. I suppose that was a clue. Oh well.

Please, do remember that even though you CAN proceed without answering the puzzle, it would go against your principle to keep this story moving if you can't answer this one puzzle.

Once you have thought of the answer, read the back of this paper."

Layton finished reading the first piece of paper and began doing random thinking poses according to the tick tocking of the clock found somewhere in the living room.

He couldn't explain why, but it always worked out like this for him.

When he was ready to answer, the tick tock sounds and the thinking poses where key for answering correctly.

"I've got it! A see-saw!"

Smiling, he turned the piece of paper around.

"You just won 20 imaginary Picarats! Please proceed to the kitchen. Don't forget to light your way with the flashlight! And please… DON'T forget the moustache!"

Using the flashlight as his guide, Layton walked towards his kitchen.

Little did he know that he was being watched…

**TO BE CONTINUED~**

Some words from the author:

Greetings!

This is the second chapter of this short story. I hope you are enjoying reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it.

I want to thank you for all of the reviews and the motivational words that made me write the second chapter in a day. It is thanks to your kind words and reviews that I felt motivated to keep this story going.

Now then, what could be waiting for the Professor in the kitchen?

Did anyone notice the fact that he forgot to read the second piece of paper that was on the envelope? What do you think that piece of paper says?

If you wish to leave your thoughts or ideas, please leave a review! I promise to reply to each and every one.

Again, thank you for taking your time to read these words.

I promise that the third (and final... AND longest) chapter will be up soon. Don't forget, reviews get my writing gear working! :D

Until next time!

S


	3. Evil Hamster, Purple Glitter and Makeup

**Introductory Blabla from the Shameless Author:**

Greetings, dearest readers! First of all, I want to apologize for taking oh so very long to write and post this chapter. I suck and deserve to not get any Christmas presents this year, I know.

Anyway, I hope you can forgive me and that you enjoy this chapter.

**An Evil Hamster, Purple Glitter and Makeup**

The kitchen was cold. And it smelled funny.

The professor made his way to the fridge, confused as to why he had to take a fake moustache with him. He then remembered there was a second piece of paper in the envelope that he had completely ignored in order to cause a cliffhanger on the end of the last chapter.

Taking the second piece of paper from the envelope, he read the following:

"We WARNED you. PUT ON THE MOUSTACHE ON RIGHT NOW! Please. And if you still have the cookie with you, you might want to keep it in a safe place until you meet your loyal apprentice. Just saying. "

The professor raised an eyebrow and decided it was best to follow the advice that the simple piece of paper provided.

Taking the moustache and staring at it curiously, he put it on and tried to avoid sneezing. The moustache smelled of Christmas cookies and shiny purple glitter.

"I wonder why I must do these weird tasks… "

That is when the music started.

It was the sort of music that makes you look around in confusion, because you find it hard to believe that such eerie music can start playing out of nowhere.

That is when Layton spotted the music box from which the tune came from. There was a small hole in the music box where the key that had been provided to him in the envelope would fit perfectly.

Without a second thought, the professor decided it was time to solve this crazy mystery once and for all.

Taking the key from the envelope, he opened the music box and the mystical tune that had started to play out of the blue stopped playing.

Shining the light from the lamp into the inside of the box, the professor saw there was yet ANOTHER piece of paper in there.

"It appears that the person involved in this crazy adventure has a thing for written notes" the professor chuckled to himself.

However, this piece of paper was different. It was shiny and had the letters "Ticket for the Mysterious Play" in big black bold letters.

The professor blinked in confusion. On the back of the ticket the following instructions were written:

"You have done well. You have the moustache, the ticket and the courage to keep going forward. The play will start in 5 minutes. Please proceed once again to the living room and follow the instructions that will be provided to you by the director. Enjoy!"

Without losing another minute, Hershel Layton hurried to the door that led to the living room… only to realize that the door was blocked by something on the other side.

The professor tried to push the door with all his might, but found himself unable to move it an inch.

Putting his ear to the door, he heard hushed whispers between two persons.

"Luke, STOP being such a crybaby and let the Professor out of the kitchen!"

"I REFUSE to continue with this! You never mentioned I would have to put this on! I don't want the professor to see me like this! "

"A real gentleman has the ability to not allow the clothes he wears make him less of a gentleman! Besides, you look just fine to play the role you were assigned."

"How would YOU know what makes a real gentleman? You're a GIRL!"

And thus the hushed whispers continued to argue.

The Professor was a bright man, everybody knew that. He knew how to get out of the funny smelling kitchen without using force or his super ninja powers that nobody knew he had.

He took the cookie out of his pocket.

The smell of the chocolate made Luke lose his mind. Without thinking about it twice, Luke opened the door to the kitchen and stared at the cookie in the Professor's hand.

Layton, on the other hand, stared at Luke.

Luke was wearing a shiny blue dress. And a bright wig that made him look adorable and funny at the same time. Behind him, Flora was wearing a director's beret (yes, the funny looking hat that director's like to wear in movies) and a black dress. A megaphone was in her hands.

After an awkward pause, Flora smiled and clapped her hands with the megaphone under her left arm.

"Perfect! The moustache fits the Professor perfectly for his role!"

Luke shuffled his feet and pretended that nothing was wrong.

"Good morning Professor"

The professor handed the young apprentice the cookie.

"Good morning Luke. I believe you deserve this. Seems like young Flora has been making you work hard this morning."

Luke took the cookie and ate it in silence.

Flora was smiling and looked pleased with herself.

"Your role is simple, Professor. You don't even have to memorize any lines, it's all about improvising. I am the director and I want this play to be stunning, so you must do your very best! Luke here is playing the role of the crybaby girl that needs to be rescued from the evil hamster that loves to eat but needs to lose some weight. You will play the role of the very brave gentleman that signs the hamster to a special "Weight Losing Program". However, a mystery arises!"

The Professor blinked in confusion.

"The mystery involves a lot of puzzle solving and a bit of sword fighting scenes to spice things up. Please, proceed to the makeup stand and be ready for action in 4 minutes. Time is short!"

Without another word, Flora hurried to the director's chair that had been put in one of the corners of the living room.

Actually, Layton was surprised with the changes that had been done to his living room.

There was now a small stage in the middle, illuminated by shiny lights. A fat hamster with a black wig and heavy makeup to make him look evil was sitting on the middle of it, looking confused.

Luke was unhappy and pointed to the makeup stand, where a very bright Emmy was smiling and holding a brush for makeup.

"Flora is a bright girl! I love this idea. Hurry now, Professor, I have to put on the proper makeup for your role. The audience will be here any minute, we must hurry!"

Layton was a wise man. He knew better than to stop the plan of two bright ladies that were excited for a project that they had worked on for so very long. (One day can be considered as very long time depending on the way you think about it, readers!)

"Luke, my boy … please remind me to never go on vacation ever again."

Luke blinked in confusion and yelled.

"You were on vacation?"

But it was too late.

Soon, the professor was ready (Emmy had a special talent for stage makeup, one of her many talents, like kicking bad guys butts) and the lights for the stage were lit.

The audience was seated and the play started.

A play that would also make its way to the front page of the newspaper the very next day and that would be remembered by everybody.

Even the hamster.

**THE END**

And yes, after the play everyone had tea.

Because tea is awesome.

Hope you guys enjoyed this. Maybe, IF I feel inspired, I might add a bonus chapter with the actual play being performed. Maybe. Thank you so much for your support and kind words. Any doubts or ideas for bonus chapters are welcomed!


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